Granato’s glove does his talking

“I’ve always taken pride in my defense and it is fun,” Granato said. “I feel shortstop is the best position on the field. You’re involved in everything.”

Granato leads Atlantic League shortstops in fielding percentage. Through his first 64 games Granato holds a .963 fielding percentage and is second in the league in double plays turned with 33.

“I don’t have a lot of those tools that people talk about but I feel like I can do a lot of things well and I work really hard,” Granato said. “Defense, I’ve always taken pride in. Hitting is hard you can do everything right and not hit. Defense is different.”

Defense was one of the main reasons he was acquired at the end of last season as Somerset pursued the Atlantic League Championship and one of the main reasons he was re-signed this year.

His offense was just a bonus. Granato hit .364 in 10 games last season. This season, Granato’s average has been floating around .250.

“I try not to get too wrapped up in batting average,” Granato said. “For me the season is long for a reason, it doesn’t matter how you start, it matters how you finish.”

Granato finished his first six years of professional baseball with a .296 average.

While his current average might not be up to par with his career average, he still reaches base and is in the middle of the pack with runs scored, RBI and stolen bases.

“We have to try to keep him consistent,” hitting coach Kevin Dattola said. “I’ve been working with him to try to hit more ground balls.

The Atlantic League has been a learning experience for Granato. He reached high-A with the Chicago Cubs and the Colorado Rockies and is now facing pitchers with Double-A, Triple-A and major league experience.

Granato’s average went up 20 points over the last two weeks and if he can make adjustments and the hits start falling, he should finish around where he always does.

“In the (independent) CanAm League, when I was there, there was some good pitching as well,” Granato said. “But here in a series you’re going to face four starters and all four starters and going to be high caliber pitchers.”

About Ryan Dunleavy

Ryan Dunleavy has covered Rutgers athletics for more than a decade, dating back to his days as a student at his alma mater. He became New Jersey Press Media’s Rutgers women’s basketball beat writer in 2009 and Rutgers football beat writer in 2013. Since joining the staff in 2004, the Morris County native also has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, the Somerset Patriots and high school sports.